Process of forming a fabric.



4,PAIENTED JULY 9, 1907.

a SHEETS-SHEET 1.

#Wl s. MELLBN. 1 `mocmssop PORMING A FABRIC.

`ARPLIOAJION FILED SEPT. 29.19'04.

ENo. 859.678-,

PATBNTED JULY 9, 1907. W. s. MBLLEN.

`PROCESS @F.FORMING A FABRG. APPLIATION FILED SEPT. 29,1904.

`. a Bumm-SHEET a.

PATENTBD JULY 9, 1907. W. s. MELLEN.

PROCESS 0F PORMING A FABRIC. l.APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29.1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Jaya. ffl/'a Inl/21 for gamdfw l My WM' UNIrEDd STATESl PATENT ormoni WILLI'AM' S. MELIiEN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO NATIONAL VENEER PACKAGE COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

PROCESS F FORMING A FABRIC.

To all whom it may concern: l

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. MELLEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Forming a Fabric of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the process of forminga new article of manufacture also invented byI me and made the subject of aseparate application for patent filed contemporaneously, herewith.

The process consists both in the formation of the material andfthe method of constructing specific articles therefrom.

In the drawings, in which like numbers of reference denote like parts wherever they occur, Figure 1 is a sectional view through Ithe essential parts of one end of my apparatus for practicing this process; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the roller and of the material as it is being fed toward the same; Fig.V 3 is a sectional View on tlie line 3-3, Fig. 2, of part of the sheet o material, showing a joint between two -of the component pieces; Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a fragment of the completed article; Figs.. ,5v and 6 show a modification; Figs. 7 to l2 are merely illustrative figures, showing a few among the many forms into' which the fabric, hereinafter described, can be shaped, Fig.'7, for instance, illustrating same in the form of a stave column; Fig. 11, the same cylinder flattened intoa board; Fig. 8, the same cylinder reformed into rectangular shape; Fig. 9, the material* differently formed for the manufacture of a barrel; and Figs. 10 and 1-2, other shapes which may be useful.

In order that the process may be better understood,

I shall briefly describe so much of the apparatus as is` exhibited in the drawings, it being understood that an application for patent accompanied by a complete description Vand illustration of said apparatus is filed contemporaneously herewith. An endless belt or conveyer 1 passes underneath the hollow cylinder 2 and around the same. Said cylinder is mounted on a shaft 3, which causesthe same to rotate when. itself revolved. The belt 1 travels in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 and carries with it the material 4, out of whichvthe specific articles'are t0 be made. The material 4A and the belt l pass between the cylinder 2 and the roller 5 and are thereby guided to follow the circumference of the cylinder 2 and are tightly held in contact with same by the plurality of compressor-rollers 5 (or other suitable means) which practically surround said cylinder 2.

The primary idea connected with this process is that it may ,be used for the purpose of turningoto practical account all kinds of inferior lumber such as is at-the present. time thrown away or otherwise wasted or used for a relatively less important object. It is obvious,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Apts-cation ned september 29,1904. sans No. 226,437.

-in Fig. 2.

Patented July 9, 1907.

of course, that this process is not restricted to the use of cheap or inferior lumber, but that I can just as wellarises from the fact that by the use of this process in-` ferior or very poor lumber or a mixture ofsuch lumber and high grade lumber can be utilized to the sameV advantage as lumber of asuperior or superflue char-k acter. Moreover, waste pieces of lumber, such as are too short for ordinary use, can be made use of and also a mixture of different kinds of wood, so that, if desired, the finished product may comprise a mixture of spruce, elm,'oak, and pine, or any of these as'may be desired, so that the Weakest wood by reason-of its combination with the strongest wood possesses in the finished article the strength lof that strongest, so that elm, for instance,

is like'oak. Furthermore, the result of my process of treating scrap wood'or other kinds of lumber is that, where no effort is made to strengthen the product, as by the introductionof oak or other strong wood into the combination, the scraps or pieces of ordinary wood, as welded together by my process, constitute a .material of unusual strength, adapted to a large variety vencen After the peeling just mentioned and before the wood is ready for the forming machine, it is cut into strips of any desired length or width. The length and width of the several pieces of quasi veneer may.

differ and vary as much/as and more than is indicated In this ligure, 7'is a long strip of veneer, while 8 and 9 are only half so long, but equally wide. 10 is a strip which is as wide as 8 and 7 put together, but not so long as either. It will be observed that the grain ofthe wood in the piece 10 runs at right angles to the grain of the wood in strips 7, 8, and 9 and in the strips l1, 12, and 13, although it runs in vthe same direction as the grain in 14. Before the stripsof veneer are laid in the position indicated in Fig. 2 on the endless belt 1, they are prepared by being chamfered along the edges of same adjacent to the next connecting piece. For instance, the piece 10, illustrated in Fig. 2, will be chamfered so as to connect in the manner hereinafter described with the pieces 7 and 8, which are also chamfered on their ends adjacent to the piece I0, and likewise on their edges adjacent to each other, as indicated `by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. The piece 8 is again chamfered at the end or edge adjacent to the piece 9, and the piece 9 is chamfered at its end adjacent to the piece 8 and also on its side next to the piece 7. These statements regarding the charnfering of the several pieces are only made by way of illustration to show that every piece entering into the composition of theultimate fabric is chamfered on its ends or edges which overlap and connect with the. next adjoining piece of veneer direction the grain of the pieces runs. It is unnecessary that the several pieces should be of like size or shape, but they may be of any size or shape. It is preferable, however, that they shall be of such shape that their chamfered edges will neatly overlap each other, and, while this can be arrangedwith the pieces bearing any shape, yet it is obvious that for practical purposes andordinary uses rectangular shapes willordinarily and preferably beused, as less labor and trouble is involved in so preparing them that they will instance, the piece marked l0 in the first layer will have its grain running longitudinally, instead of transversely, as in the piece marked 10. Moreover, the second layer, or any other layer, ca'n, if desired, be made of diagonal strips so as yto cross from one'side to the other of. the fabric, thus binding all parts toegther and strengthening same. In so arranging the pieces of veneer, it is obvious that afabric of superior strength will be prod-ucedby forming one layer with the strips running diagonally toward the left and in the next' layer having said strips running diagonally to the right.

In the chamfering or skiving of the strips of veneer the strips are first skived to a featherlike edge for a narrow width, which would vary' in different sizes of pieces 4'of veneer", but in ordinary sizes would be about one inch in width. This featherlike edge is of equal thickness throughout its length and breadth, but from the inner edge of same the skiving or chamfering assumes `a different form, so as to produce a beveled i edge, said bevel slanting toward the center ofthe strip of material or veneer. This double character of the chamfering or skiving of the strips of veneer is of great importance, as it results in the overlapping strips being welded and bound to each other much more strongly and securely than if. the chamfering produced' a bevel cut clear to the edge. The featherlike portion of the chamfered edge of a strip of veneer is indicated at'15 in Fig. 3, and/ l-denotes the beginning of the beveled portion,

The chalnf'ered or skived portions of the strips of veneer (if, for instance, but a single layer is to be formed) Iare treated with adhesives, same being aplplied with the obj ect of causing the overlapping skived,

portions to adhere to each other and thus to form a continuous fabric. -lf the object to be formed is onewhich will be exposed to the weather, as, for instance, arailroad tie, each strip may as a whole at this time be treated with such preservative as is suitable, usually creosote in the case of a railroad tie. Il the article to be This is true no matter what the shape of the several pieces may happen to be and in whatsoever' formed is to be composed of more than one layer of fabJ ric, then not only the chamfered or skived portions of each strip, but also the entire surface of each piece of veneer would be covered with an adhesive substance, in order that the superimposed layer will be firmly attached to the lower layer throughout its length.

The strips of veneer being-in the position shown in Fig. 2, and having been partly inserted under the cylinder 2, the machine is started into operation,

.the belt 1 which passes off intothe distance and en- I circles an idler (not4 shown).

The strips of veneer, chamfered and coated with adhesives, as before stated,

are bound closely together under the heavy vpressure of feed roll 5 and the compression rollers 6 against vthe cylinder 2, said cylinder 2 acting as a former and imparting to the Woodstrips wound around it a cylindrical shape, as a fabric thusformed under pressure does not follow the endless belt 1 when its direction is changedv as atA 17, but follows round the cylinder 2 i between it and the remaining pressure rollers 6 until it unites with the remainder of the material at the place of beginning. When it is desired to make an article of several thicknesses or layers, it may either be-done in the way previously described, or as indicated in Fig, 1, where, after one cylinder 18 has been j formed on the former 2, another one 19 may be formed immediately around same by simply continuing to feed the-material on thebelt 1, and this may be repeated ad liln'tum. The sectional View in Fig. 4. shows the' nature ofthe overlapping chemie-red joint of the center cylinder where the article is composed of three layers of fabric.

It will be observed in the first place, that the prac-J.

tice of this process resultsA in the' formation of a new product in the shape of a fabric composed of strips of quasi veneer suitably chamfered at their ends and edges and attached to each other by adhesives, the same being compacted together until it assumes the form of a continuous fabric by power applied toit. In the second place, the practice of the process as hereinabove described results in the formation of any article that .it is desired to manufacture out of the fabric' constituting the new\ product just described, such articles so manufactured being given their desired form'whatever that may be, and varying accord- I ing to what the article is, at the same time that the power is applied to compact the several strips or pieces of quasi veneer into the fabric above mentioned, said lformloeing imparted vto the fabric at the time stated, in order that it may receive same.

Heretofore, it has been deemed impossible to form into a cylindrical shape, or any other shape analogous thereto,v anything except continuous strips or pieces of wood, because of the liability of same to give way at' the joints. By my process, however, thc strips of veneer are formedl under pressure at the same time that they are'coinprcssed into adhesive union with each other. ily this simultnnoity of welding and forming, a joint is made which, by reason of the pressure applied, contains no ainspu-ces. and whereby the joint. is both formed and welded at the same time, great strength and permanency being thus secured. l

ln the modification of this process,'illustrated in liigs. 5 and ti, the strips 20 and 2l may be formed in th c same manner as the broader strip depicted in Fig. 2, and, in any event, the successive sections 22, 23, 24,' etc., will be united together by the saine method of chamfering, overlapping oi the parts, the use of adhesives, ctc., heretofore described, but the cylinder or other article to be formed would be evolved not by the longitudinal forward movement of a piece of fabric, such as exhibited in Fig.` 2, but by the guidance of a strip, such as strip 20, in such a manner as to be ted at an angle to the former, such as cylinder 2, for instance, said strip 20 having the chamfered edge 25. 1n this method of forming the article, the strip 20 would be ied at just enough of an angle so that when same has once encircled the cylinder 2 the under or inside skivcd edge of the strip 2() that is following laps over and cemcnts or wclds to a similar skived edge -26 on the upper or outside edge of the strip 20. As the strips are fed into the machine, other strips may be attached 'to the ends of those passing in, so that in appearance it is as if one long ribbon were being fed into the rnachine. In this wa'y an arti'le with a continuous circumference, like thatillustrated in Fig. 5, may be formed, and when a suitable size is reached, the end oi' the strip 20 may be cut off and the ends made even. When the strip 20 has -been cut ofi at one end oi the cylinder 2, it may be fed into the machine at the oppbsite end and With the opposite angle, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 5, so that, when wound around the cylinder 2 and, also, around the article formed thereon, as depicted in Fig. 5, a construction like that shown in Fig. 6 is produced, in which it Will be observed that the strip 20 Winds spirally in` one direction, While the strip 2l winds spirally in theopposte direction, whereby is produced an article not only of double strength, by reason of being made of two layers, but of enhanced strength, by reason oi the joints formed in the winding of strip 20`being crossed by strip 2l, the joints of which latter strip are formed in the opposite direction. It is obvious that as many lmninations as desired may be formed.

The finished tubo may be withdrawn from the formerdrum or cylinder 2, and can be nished'according to the purpose for which it is to be used. For instance, if intended for a stave column, which is thegarticle of manufacture which is illustrated in the drawing, and generally described herein, it is ready to trim and polish for use. For some other purposes, it may need to be again softened and molded to the desired shape, which shape may be either square, hollow, solid, or lim.. like a board, A board, i'or instance, would be molded by flattening a cylinder of this' new fabric. 'Phe material is very pliable While passing through the process described, but the article formed thereby is oi' extraordinary strength.

One oi the most important features oi this process of nninufacture consists in the manner by which a laniinatcd article is made. As layer is wound upon layer in the manner hereinabove described, the pressure of the successive layers gradually increases the pressure.`

upon the iirst layer, so that an enormous aggregate pressure can be reached. Thus, if the first winding of the material around tire former-drum is effected under av certain pressure thepressure oi the second wind or layer of material will be double on the `formerdrum that oi the first layer. .An equal `amount of pressure Will be added by the next layer, so thatthe pressure on the first layer, when the third one has been Wound, will equal double the pressure of the iirst1amina tion on the former-drum when first wound therearound. The'result is a laminated product of unusual strength.

Having thus described my said invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is:

1.` ine process of making articles of impressible material consisting in chamfering or skivlng the material on edges that connect with each other; applying Vadhesives to said chamfered portions: causing said charnfered portions to overlap similarly chamfered portions; and passing said composite fabric through a compi-essor which simultaneousiy compacts the joints between said connecting edges and imparts a form other than dat to said cornpo`site fabric to form the article.

2. 'The process of making articles of material thin like veneer consisting in first chamfering or skiving edges of plurality of pieces of said material: treating said cimmferedp0rtions `with adhesives; causing chhmferetl por tions so treated to overlnp chamfered portions of adjaycent pieces; and passing same through u compressor which simultaneously compacts the joints hetwcen'said pieces and imparts a form other than hat to the composite fabric to form the article.

3. The process of making articles of thin impressible material consisting in tirst charnfering the edgesl of a ribhon or strip of said material; then applying adhesives to said charnfered portions; then winding said strip or ribbon so vthat the chaxnfered edge of onel side of said strip overlaps and becomes attached to the chamfered edge on the opposite side of the same strip at a more advanced point of the wind; and then applying pressure whereby si-v multaneously the joint between said edges is compacted and strengthened and a form other than flat imparted to the `fabric to form the article.

4.4 The process of making ligneous fabric,l consisting in chamfering olr skiving the edges of a plurality of thin pieces of wood so that at the edge of each there is first a straight skived portion, and further back from thek edge a beveled skived portion; treating 'said chamfered portions with adhesives; overlapping said chamfered portions; compactlng the whole together by pressure suitably applied whereby the fabric is given a form otherthan flat.

while its fragmentary constituents are being caused to adhere together; and winding lamlnations thereof, with adhesives between same, one upon another.

5. The process of making n fabric of material thin like veneer consisting in chamfering or skiving edges of a plurality of pieces of said mnterial treating said chainfsred portions with adhesives; overlapping said chnmfered portions; prellminarily compneting the joints be tween said pieces together by pressure suitably applied; imparting a form other than that of n plain sheet to said fabric; and increasing the strength of said joints by applying additional pressure thereto, said last 'pressure being caused by winding another lamination or laminations of similar' composite fabric upon the tiret luminu- 

